The Weird A-Coloring to Al Kickstarter Campaign Ends Today at Noon!

When I was doing my taxes recently I made a surprising discovery that was both good and bad, encouraging and cause for despair. I naturally assumed that I made way less money in 2020 than I did in previous years because the Patreon for this site, which is my primary source of income, declined precipitously, from somewhere in the 3,400 dollar range to around 2500 dollars a month. 

So you can imagine my surprise when I learned that I actually made substantially more money in 2020 than in previous years due largely to the success of The Weird Accordion to Al, my 500 page self-published tribute to the prince of pop parody. 

I know that the book had done well in terms of finding an audience, making readers happy and selling very well for a self-published book with next to nothing in the way of a promotional budget but I did not realize just HOW well. 

I actually made more money through self-publishing books in 2020 than I did from the website that is my main gig and my main passion in life, although the two are so inter-connected that it can be hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, or even if there is any real notable distinction between the two, since The Weird Accordion to Al and The Joy of Trash are both Happy Place books based on Happy Place columns. 

Me shortly before having to turn over my big bag of money to the IRS.

That’s the beauty of self-publishing when done right. When I published books with Scribner and Abrams Image I got paid once, at the very beginning of the process. That was it. I was lucky in that I had an amazing agent who ensured that those advances were sizable but I also went in knowing that unless my book was a best-seller or broke out in a huge way there was no chance I would ever receive a penny in royalties. 

That thankfully is not the case with crowd-funding and self-publishing. With The Weird Accordion to Al I got a nice chunk of change from the Kickstarter campaign and then additional income through a Backerkit secondary campaign. I was also fortunate in that the book sold well enough on Amazon to generate considerable ongoing royalties (although God knows they decrease with time) AND to be able to make money selling the book on my website and through Paypal. 

At the risk of being immodest, the key to The Weird Accordion to Al’s career-sustaining success is that IT’S REAL FUCKING GOOD. I know I shouldn’t swear when discussing Al’s work but I wanted to really highlight that THE WEIRD ACCORDION TO AL IS A GREAT BOOK THAT I’M SUPER PROUD OF. 

For weeks after I got in my first copies of The Weird Accordion to Al, I would page through it with a look of incredible pride and satisfaction, taking particular joy in my brilliant illustrator Felipe Sobreiro’s illustrations. 

I didn’t want to leave the world of “Weird Al” Yankovic behind after completing the 500 page extended version of The Weird Accordion to Al. Thankfully I don’t have to because the third and fourth books from Declan-Haven Publishing/Nathan Rabin’s Happy Place Inc. will be a “Weird Al” Yankovic-themed coloring book and art-book whose Kickstarter campaign ends TODAY at noon! 

Oh my goodness! I could not be more excited about bringing these books into the world. I can’t wait to hold them in my hands and lovingly color my very own coloring book. How crazy is that? Technically it’s Felipe’s coloring book more than my own, and he will be getting most of the money from it but it’s my idea and my words and I will be doing the crowd-funding campaign for The Weird A-Coloring to Al and the Weird A-Coloring to Al Colored In Edition. 

It’s an enormous amount of work and labor and hassle but it’s all worth it. Oh sweet blessed lord is it ever worth it. I love being able to write books and publish books at this stage in my career and I also kind of dig the process of buying books and signing books and shipping books and buying shipping materials and going to the post office. 

Because if I have books that I need to ship out to readers and patrons and Kickstarter backers, that means that people want what I have to offer enough to buy it directly from me.

But in order to continue to own and operate a successful independent publishing company I need you beautiful people to continue to support me and my literary endeavors at every stage, from the Kickstarter campaign through the day of publication and on through eternity. 

So please do consider pledging to the campaign before it ends. As one of the world’s biggest Felipe Sobreiro fans, I would love to force that wonderful man to do as many original illustrations for the book as possible. The more money we raise, the more work Felipe has to do.

“Weird Al” Yankovic makes people happy. His music makes people happy. His videos make people happy. His concerts make people deliriously happy and I have a strong suspicion that really engaging with The Weird A-Coloring to Al will make you happy. 

So get onboard the Weird A-Coloring to Al Train! We’re roaring out of the station en route to a glorious future. 

If nothing else, I would very much appreciate it if our labor of love out-sold this abomination. 

Pre-order The Weird A-Coloring to Al/Colored-In “Weird Al” Yankovic coloring book here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weirdaccordiontoal/the-weird-a-coloring-to-al-coloring-colored-in-books

Pre-order The Joy of Trash: Nathan Rabin’s Happy Place’s Definitive Guide to the Very Worst of Everything and get access to original articles AS I write them and plenty more bonus stuff like exclusive cards featuring Felipe Sobreiro’s amazing artwork for the book at https://the-joy-of-trash.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders/cart

Help ensure a future for the Happy Place during an uncertain era AND get sweet merch by pledging to the site’s Patreon account at https://www.patreon.com/nathanrabinshappyplace